Lake authorities think same man robbed several banks

Investigators think the man who robbed a Clermont bank Monday is responsible for a string of similar robberies across Central Florida during the past two months.

Lake County Sheriff's Office Detective Clay Watkins said surveillance footage from bank robberies in Leesburg, Tavares, Haines City, Lakeland, West Melbourne and Deltona contains images of a suspected robber that are virtually identical to the man caught on security cameras as he robbed the Bank of America on U.S. Highway 27 on Monday afternoon.

In each instance, witnesses described a suspect in his late 20s who is 5-feet-5 to 5-feet-7 and about 180 pounds, Watkins said. He has a small goatee.

"I'm not going to say I'm 100 percent sure, but it does appear to be the same individual," Watkins said.

Watkins also said that in each incident, the suspect walked into the bank, waited in line and then presented the teller with a note demanding money. Although the man implied he had a weapon at some of the banks, he never displayed one.

Banks don't often reveal how much money they lose in robberies, but Watkins said that few robbers who act alone walk off with a fortune.

"They don't make a great deal of money," he said. "They make a couple of thousand dollars, but that's it."

Nonetheless, Lake County has seen a half-dozen bank robberies since mid-February. Watkins doesn't think that the man who robbed the Bank of America in Clermont is responsible for all of the robberies. He said the first time the man appeared on investigators' radar was when he robbed a Leesburg Bank of America on March 28.

But Watkins said the man's arrest likely will lead to a decrease in area bank robberies.

"We need to get him off the street, and then I think our bank-robbery numbers will go down," he said.

Anyone with information about the robberies is asked to call 1-800-423-TIPS. They might be eligible for a reward.